The present invention relates to an information detecting apparatus attached to an information processing apparatus, such as a personal computer, word processor, portable information terminal, etc., and adapted to receive and deliver directional information, such as images, infrared rays, radio waves, etc., to the information processing apparatus, and an information processing system provided with the same.
Modern information detecting apparatuses of this type include, for example, a computer camera that is mounted on a personal computer and used to detect image information. The camera is attached to a side face of a display of the computer by means of clips or the like.
The computer camera is provided with a position adjustment mechanism for directing its image pickup portion toward a subject. The position adjustment mechanism may be formed of, for example, a tilting mechanism for rocking the image pickup portion of the camera back and forth or a panning mechanism for rocking the image pickup portion from side to side.
Generally-known cameras to be mounted on the display of a notebook-type personal computer are provided with a tilting or panning mechanism or an image pickup portion that is attached to a panning mechanism on the side of the computer by means of a tilting mechanism.
According to the conventional computer cameras that are furnished with only one of the adjustment mechanisms, tilting or panning, however, the direction of the image pickup portion can be adjusted only within a limited range, and the personal computer body and the display must be subjected to angle adjustment in order to project the subject accurately. Thus, adjusting operation is troublesome.
According to the cameras having the image pickup portion that is attached to the panning mechanism on the body side by means of the tilting mechanism, on the other hand, the adjustment range can be made wider than that for the cameras with only one of the adjustment mechanisms. Depending on the way of adjustment, in some cases, however, a part of the camera may run against the computer or overlap the screen of the display, thereby lowering the visibility of the display.